W A L K on KING STREET

We are excited to be a part of the W A L K Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina. Our "Hello, I Am" project (to date) is hanging in the windows of the old Millennium Music building on the corner of Calhoun and King Streets. We hope that you'll take a stroll near Marion Square to see the exhibit hanging in the windows! We'll post some pictures soon. It's been really fun watching people stop to check out the exhibit and actually READ the sign about the project. We're hoping this kind of exposure will help to move our mission forward in creating some much needed dialogue. Tell your friends and leave us a message letting us know what you saw. Many thanks to RENA LASCH and all those involved with W A L K Gallery. They have really made a difference in the landscape of empty commercial space in this town. Visit them at www.walkgallery.org.

Paz y Amor,
Leah

Women's International Day Celebrations in Charleston

Charleston, SC- Project Speak Up, in coordination with the Center for Women and the Women and Gender Studies Program at the College of Charleston, will be kicking of the Women's International Day Celebrations in Charleston at the Circular Congregational Church, located at 150 Meeting Street, at 3:30 pm on Sunday, March 8, 2009. The days events will feature the opening and continuation of "Hello I Am...", an art opening featuring works by photoraphers and artists including Stacy Pearsall, Mikayla Mackaness, and Priscilla Thomas, a performance by actor Joy Vandervort Cobb, a performance by Leah Suarez, lectures and discussions. Artists' work will be featured throughout the evening. The event is free and open to the public. Please come join in celebrating Women's International Day in Charleston!

The schedule of events is as follows:

3:30-Opening reception welcoming all to the International Women's Day celebrations. Art Opening featuring Project Speak Up, Leah Suarez(www.leahsuarez.com )& Alice Keeney(www.alicekeeney.com )and the "Hello I Am..." project, along with featured works by photographers Stacy Pearsall(www.f8pj.com), Mikayla Mackaness(www.mikaylamackaness.com/), and Priscilla Thomas(*http://priscillathomas.com/splash.html). Artists' work will be featured throughout the evening.

4pm: Introduction and welcome to International Women's Day followed by a discussion about women's issues in the Charleston area, and how they relate to women's issues world-wide.

4:30-5:15: Performance by actor Joy Vandervort-Cobb,(http://www.cofc.edu/theatre/bios/vandervort.html) followed by readings and Q&A.

5:15-6: Reception /Art Opening featuring Project Speak Up, Leah Suarez & Alice Keeney and the "Hello I Am..." project, along with featured works by photographers Stacy Pearsall, Mikayla Mackaness, and Priscilla Thomas. Artists' work will be featured throughout the evening.

6-7: Jazz Vespers Featuring Leah Suarez

Thursday, May 8 @ Kudu!

Charleston, SC - Photographer Alice Keeney and musician Leah Suárez, collectively the founders of Project Speak Up, will present HELLO I AM: A Celebration of Identity on Thursday, May 8 at Kudu Coffee. The opening reception will begin at 7pm and will include a multimedia presentation, followed by a reception lasting until 10pm in the courtyard of Kudu Coffee located at 4 Vanderhorst Street, in the heart of Downtown Charleston. This event is free of charge and open to the general public. Complimentary wine will be served and live music by Leah Suárez, Gerald Gregory and David Linaburg. "SEE YOU AT KUDU!" Many thanks to the talented artist Nathan Durfee for producing the Hello I Am artwork. Warmest appreciation to John, Monika, Ryan and the rest of the staff at Kudu for giving our work a home.

Keeney and Suárez have joined forces to create an inevitably powerful presentation illuminating the core of identity and the need to SPEAK UP! The two artists have explored the lives of 16 individuals currently living in the community of Charleston, South Carolina. Each individual was asked a series of identical questions in a video interview. Keeney's and Suárez's artistic response is captured in photographs, music and prose, with the hopes of bringing to light the need to start somewhere...anywhere...a conversation in finding our own identities. Hello I Am is the first of many projects planned for Project Speak Up and will continue to explore identity on a community level as well as nationally and globally.

HELLO I AM: A Celebration of Identity is showing at Kudu Coffee May 8 - June 8.

EXPOSE COMMONALITY THROUGH DIFFERENCE
CREATE TOLERANCE THROUGH DIALOGUE
FIND PURPOSE THROUGH IDENTITY

16 different people. 16 different places of birth. 16 different homes. 16 different experiences. 16 different answers to the same exact questions. How many times have you written your name on that little sticker that reads "Hello My Name Is..."? And what if that sticker asked you to dare to define yourself - not by your name, but what makes you simply you? What if all anyone ever saw was your response...and did not judge you on the color of your skin, your preference of sexuality, your "foreign" accent or dialect, the spelling of your name or the god you choose to worship, but rather on the definition of your choosing. What if we had that conversation with one person a day? One person a week?

Main Entry: iden·ti·ty

Pronunciation: \ī-ˈden-tə-tē, ə-, -ˈde-nə-\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural iden·ti·ties

Etymology: Middle French identité, from Late Latin identitat-, identitas, probably from Latin identidem repeatedly, contraction of idem et idem, literally, same and same

Date: 1570

1 a: sameness of essential or generic character in different instances b: sameness in all that constitutes the objective reality of a thing : oneness
2 a: the distinguishing character or personality of an individual

hello WE are...

hello my name is...

Alice Keeney.

I am 25 years old. I was born in Providence, Rhode Island. Where my friends are is where I call home.

hello my name is...

Leah Suárez.

I am 26 years old. I am a woman. I was born in Greenwood, South Carolina. Where I am is where I call home.

The Source

This is Rum 46 (pronounced "room"). That is literally the building number of the street where this exhibition space is located in Aarhus, Denmark. This is essentially where the inspiration came for OUR version of their "Speak Up! Set Up Tolerance." My dear friend, Uzma Ahmed Andresen of Copenhagen, Denmark (pictured below) asked me to perform for their exhibition reception. I really did not know what I was getting myself into, but it was an opportunity to see another part of Denmark and perform. Little did I know that I would be forever changed and inspired by the people involved in this project and the important issues they decided to tackle in print. I often say that I "found my voice" in Denmark...that was not just my literal singing voice, but even more so, my heart, my passions, my beliefs that make me, me. I found out what was important to me and what I think is worth fighting for in our world community and why. This picture is the window of the Rum 46, a revolving exhibition space. The red crate is holding many Speak Up! newspapers that were distributed that day. This is the day that I realized that I have a voice that could possibly make a bigger difference....we all do. I encourage you to visit their website. Many parts of it are available in English as well. setuptolerance.dk

Pictured left to right...Tanja Nellemann, Uzma Ahmed Andresen and Grete Aargaard

And this is my team of inspiration! Tanja and Grete have exhibited all around the world and are the 2 main editors of Speak Up! Uzma was a contrubting writer for Speak Up!'s first edition. She also is the founder of another incredibly incredibly inspiring organization hennah.dk

Another woman (not pictured here) involved in Rum 46 who is a true inspiration is Barbara Katzin. She is American born, but has been in Denmark for thirty plus years. Her passion in Rum 46 is remarkable.

finding the source

Alice is in Africa now, I am sure growing and learning and researching. The fun part about this project is that we are really the ones that are "following the lead" of our intuition and feelings, being inspired by each of our individual personal experiences and being influenced by the atmosphere, people and relationships around us. I am anxious to hear and see and read about Alice's experiences. In the meantime, I am doing some reflecting on the inspiration of this project and focusing on the preparation for my own research and contributions. We are still set for a November 1st public presentation in a venue "to be announced" soon. This is a private effort and we are not, nor have any intention, of becoming a "not-for-profit" organization under government regulations, so our funding options are very limited, making this truly a grass roots effort. November 1st is soon...

While reflecting on Project Speak Up (and being in search of AVAILABLE domain names), I have really been focusing on my initial inspirations and what ignited the fire inside of me. I think about my time exactly one year ago, when I was living in Denmark, essentially on my own trying to find something I really didn't know I was looking for. My journey began long ago, I believe, as a young girl, but it took 25 years of life experience and being in a foreign country, surrounded by intelligent, strong, encouraging, humble and uplifting people to initiate my need now for action. In my next blogs, over the next few days, I will enlighten you on the journey and give you some insight as to who, what, when, where and why.

Be open to infinite possibilities...always.

-Leah
Being Inspired...

Welcome to Project Speak Up!

I personally thank you for stopping by to visit and see what we have been up to and what we will be working on for who knows how long! ;) I am proud to team up with photographer (and friend) Alice Keeney in making this "labor of love" a reality, while shedding light on issues centered around personal and cultural identity while promoting tolerance. This project is something that has taken some time to get started and will always be a "work-in-progress," but we have great aspirations and are looking forward to the experiences, awakenings and growth this project is sure to bring. Though it has officially been a year in the making for me personally (though a lifetime, in actuality), tonight's blog post marks the beginning of the public documentation for our "little" project. Again, our project is in constant development and our current goals are to capture and be inspired by what we have the opportunity to be subjected to at any given moment. Our respective creative outlets will give our inspirations, thoughts, ideas and truths the forum they need and we hope that that you will join us on our journey. Alice will be on her way to Africa next week working on several projects....let the "speaking up" begin!!

Paz,
Leah